April 11, 2022 IP Practice Vlogs: The USPTO’s New Pilot Program – Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility Response

Proffered by Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) in the interest of expediting patent prosecution for those applications that receive Section 101 rejections, under the new Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility (DSMER) program, eligible applicants who receive a subject matter eligibility rejection with prior art rejection(s) or indefiniteness rejection(s) can defer substantively responding to the Section 101 rejection until all other rejections have been withdrawn. This program began on February 1 and will last until July 30 of this year. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will notify eligible applicants in the first Office Action on the merits. The applicant can then choose to participate in the program by filling out a form paragraph.

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